Turkey ‘significantly’ stepping up spying in Germany – Berlin

Turkish intelligence has “significantly’ increased its activities in Germany amid the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries ahead of April’s referendum on widening the Turkish president’s powers, Germany’s domestic intelligence service says.

Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency has noticed “a significant increase in Turkish intelligence activities in Germany,” it said in a statement on its website.

Tensions between the members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) outlawed in Turkey and far-right extremists are increasing and are “mirrored in Germany,” the statement also noted.

“We have long seen that the conflicts in Turkey also have an impact on the security situation in Germany,” it said.

“There is a risk that these disputes between PKK supporters and right-wing extremists will escalate, since there is a high, powerful danger potential on both sides,” Hans-Georg Maassen, Bfv President, explained.

In January, Maassen said that Germany was very concerned over the situation in Turkey and operations against the Germany-based Turks or Germans with a Turkish migration background. The comment came after an investigation into possible spying by Turkish clerics was launched in Germany.

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